Seeking Change: Jack Layton and the New Democrats

One thing that is very important to many Canadians are home grown jobs. Recent times have seen our manufacturing jobs shipped overseas as well as across the border. One thing I like about Jack Layton's approach to the economy is to invest in Canadian manufacturing. I think that's a pretty good angle to go on considering there are rumors being generated that our Canadian banks could follow suit with many financial institutions in the US.

Layton is approaching the economy by making a push to keep Canadian jobs...Canadian. It is important to note that other candidates have opposed the idea of helping Canadian companies to stay Canadian and keep pace with what should be a growing economy. Foreign companies have been either buying up companies or luring companies to out source their production in a sometimes dangerous work environment rather than producing the goods on our own shores.

Another thing the New Democrats are pushing for are greener jobs. In other words they are pushing to invest in renewable energy production with a goal of replacing 35% of Canada's current energy needs with renewable green sources of energy. A tall task indeed; but with emphasis on creating jobs that could fill the void of the recent closures and US companies moving back to the US as the dollar is too high for them to do business here. A push towards a greener and cleaner Canada to finally get close to reaching targets from the Kyoto agreement.

Our political system has been run by either Liberals or Conservatives throughout most of our history as a sovereign nation and it is time for a change. Polls have shown the Conservatives gaining ground moving forward and the New Democrats are gaining ground on the Liberal party. Although the polls may have changed since the last time I saw any numbers, it was good to see another option gaining popularity. Who do you think would be best to lead our country?

Image: Official Party Photograph
New Democrats platform: Take a look for yourself

Green Shift or Money Shift?

The Green Shift plan...is it a comparable plan to meet our commitment to the Kyoto Protocols or just another tax grab? With fuel prices soaring regardless of the actual trading price of a barrel of crude would imposing a tax on polluters to force them to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions actually be beneficial to the average Canadian? I spent a few moments looking over the "Green Shift Plan" and how it will put money back in your pocket to pay the higher prices it will create. The theory behind the plan is to force industry to reduce their emissions by taxing them for the amount of pollution they spew into the environment; I'm glad politicians are keeping the environment in mind but at what cost to the Canadian economy?

Stephane Dion's "Green Shift Plan" on the surface sounds and looks a lot like a tax grab. Something I'm sure a lot of Canadians are familiar with...Goods & Services Tax (GST/HST) for example. But after I saw one of the Liberal ads promoting the "Green Shift Plan" and not attacking other candidates I started thinking about what that would do to our manufacturing sector. Increasing the cost to run a manufacturing plant in Canada could be disastrous. How many jobs have gone south of the border thanks to the stronger dollar increasing operational costs to businesses?

I've been watching a lot of Canadian politics this past week and I have had a chance to delve into what the candidates are proposing. In terms of the environment I am still looking for the best proposal. I have seen very little information on the New Democrats plan to reduce pollution and even less from the Conservative Party. As for the Green Party's take on pollution I am still in the dark on that one; the media coverage of the Green party has been overshadowed by the larger party's plans.

As for my opinion, the "Green Shift Plan" that Dion is proposing is a big thumbs down. The cost of manufacturing in Canada is already too high; why would big business go for a plan that costs the organization more money just to reduce pollution and put more money in the pockets of Canadians to offset their price increases? I do not think this plan would be beneficial to Canadians because cutting income taxes to offset the immediate price increases across the board caused by taxing major polluters; who will just in turn force the cost on to you. What do you think Canada?

Image Source: Official Liberal Party Photo

Elizabeth May and the Green Party to Join the Next Debate

Earlier today I was watching the news and learned that Elizabeth May and the Green party would be present for the debates that some of the other party leaders have been calling for. In the past Conservatives and New Democrats opposed the inclusion of the Green party's leader because of support for the Liberal party and said it would be unfair to have two people represent the Liberal view point in a federal election. So far the debate over whether or not Elizabeth May would be present for party leaders' debate has become so much of a distraction that it is important to include them in the debate so the issues at hand do not get lost in controversy.

This is a small victory for the Green party and a victory for the people. Now the people will now get five different view points on the issues during this years election debates. The political mud slinging contest is still just getting started, I have not seen very many attack ads yet but there still is a whole month before the election. Plenty of time left for ever more creative political attack ads. But what will the inclusion of the Green party into the party leaders' debate do to the face of Canadian politics?

The addition of the Green party to the debates will give Canadians a larger view of the issues from more than one point of view. The role of our military in Afghanistan will certainly be on the hearts and minds of many eligible voters; the economy going south and our environment are also on the priority list. I am sure that like a large majority of Canadians I am not alone in saying that I really don't know where the Green party intends to go with respect to the economy slowly being moved south as American companies find it too expensive to do business in Canada while our dollar trades well on the foreign exchange markets.

The coming weeks ahead will give us all a clearer view on where the parties stand; I just hope that the American election does not over shadow our own election. I watched coverage of the nominee's campaign for the white house before any coverage of our own elections and I was a little disappointed. I hope all Canadians can take a few minutes out of their day to see where the parties stand on the issues and make an educated vote. This has been my opinion, care to share yours with me?

News Brief: Green leader allowed into debates, networks confirm
Image source: Wiki Media Commons